211 research outputs found
Sources of Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells Applicable for Musculoskeletal Applications - A Systematic Review of the Literature
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were first discovered by Friedenstein and his colleagues in 1976 from bone marrow. The unique property of these cells was their potential to develop into fibroblastic colony forming cells. Since Friedenstein’s discovery of these cells the interest in adult MSCs has been progressively growing. Nowadays MSCs are defined as undeveloped biological cells capable of proliferation, self renewal and regenerating tissues. All these properties of MSCs have been discovered in the past 35 years. MSCs can play a crucial role in tissue engineering, organogenesis, gene therapy, transplants as well as tissue injuries. These cells were mainly extracted from bone marrow but there have been additional sources for MSCs discovered in the laboratories including: muscle, dermis, trabecular bone, adipose tissue, periosteum, pericyte, blood, synovial membrane and so forth. The discovery of the alternative sources of MSCs helps widen the application of these cells in different areas of medicine. By way of illustration, they can be used in various therapeutic purposes such as tissue regeneration and repair in musculoskeletal diseases including osteonecrosis of femoral head, stimulating growth in children with osteogenesis imperfecta, disc regeneration, osteoarthritis and duchenne muscular dystrophy. In order to fully comprehend the characteristics and potential of MSCs future studies in this field are essential
Sources of Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells Applicable for Musculoskeletal Applications - A Systematic Review of the Literature
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were first discovered by Friedenstein and his colleagues in 1976 from bone marrow. The unique property of these cells was their potential to develop into fibroblastic colony forming cells. Since Friedenstein’s discovery of these cells the interest in adult MSCs has been progressively growing. Nowadays MSCs are defined as undeveloped biological cells capable of proliferation, self renewal and regenerating tissues. All these properties of MSCs have been discovered in the past 35 years. MSCs can play a crucial role in tissue engineering, organogenesis, gene therapy, transplants as well as tissue injuries. These cells were mainly extracted from bone marrow but there have been additional sources for MSCs discovered in the laboratories including: muscle, dermis, trabecular bone, adipose tissue, periosteum, pericyte, blood, synovial membrane and so forth. The discovery of the alternative sources of MSCs helps widen the application of these cells in different areas of medicine. By way of illustration, they can be used in various therapeutic purposes such as tissue regeneration and repair in musculoskeletal diseases including osteonecrosis of femoral head, stimulating growth in children with osteogenesis imperfecta, disc regeneration, osteoarthritis and duchenne muscular dystrophy. In order to fully comprehend the characteristics and potential of MSCs future studies in this field are essential
Viable models with non-universal gaugino mediated supersymmetry breaking
Recently, extra dimensional SUSY GUT models have been proposed in which
compactification of the extra dimension(s) leads to a breakdown of the gauge
symmetry and/or supersymmetry. We examine a particular class of
higher-dimensional models exhibiting supersymmetry and SU(5) or SO(10) GUT
symmetry. SUSY breaking occurs on a hidden brane, and is communicated to the
visible brane via gaugino mediation. Non-universal gaugino masses are developed
at the compactification scale as a consequence of a restricted gauge symmetry
on the hidden brane. In this case, the compactification scale is at or slightly
below the GUT scale. We examine the parameter space of such models where
gaugino masses are related due to a Pati-Salam symmetry on the hidden brane. We
find limited but significant regions of model parameter space where a viable
spectra of SUSY matter is generated. Our results are extended to the more
general case of three independent gaugino masses; here we find that large
parameter space regions open up for large values of the U(1) gaugino mass M_1.
We also find the relic density of neutralinos for these models to be generally
below expectations from cosmological observations, thus leaving room for hidden
sector states to make up the bulk of cold dark matter. Finally, we evaluate the
branching fraction BF(b -> s gamma) and muon anomalous magnetic moment a_\mu.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figure
Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Cell Surface Characterization - A Systematic Review of the Literature
Human adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were first identified by Friedenstein et al. when observing a group of cells that developed into fibroblastic colony forming cells (CFU-F). Ever since, the therapeutic uses and clinical applications of these cells have increased research and interest in this field. MSCs have the potential to be used in tissue engineering, gene therapy, transplants and tissue injuries. However, identifying these cells can be a challenge. Moreover, there are no articles bringing together and summarizing the cell surface markers of MSCs in adults. The purpose of this study is to summarize all the available information about the cell surface characterization of adult human MSCs by identifying and evaluating all the published literature in this field. We have found that the most commonly reported positive markers are CD105, CD90, CD44, CD73, CD29, CD13, CD34, CD146, CD106, CD54 and CD166. The most frequently reported negative markers are CD34, CD14, CD45, CD11b, CD49d, CD106, CD10 and CD31. A number of other cell surface markers including STRO-1, SH2, SH3, SH4, HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, HLA-DR, HLA-I, DP, EMA, DQ (MHC Class II), CDIO5, Oct 4, Oct 4A, Nanog, Sox-2, TERT, Stat-3, fibroblast surface antigen, smooth muscle alpha-actin, vimentin, integrin subunits alpha4, alpha5, beta1, integrins alphavbeta3 and alphavbeta5 and ICAM-1 have also been reported. Nevertheless, there is great discrepancy and inconsistency concerning the information available on the cell surface profile of adult MSCs and we suggest that further research is needed in this field to overcome the problem
Shadows of the Planck Scale: The Changing Face of Compactification Geometry
By studying the effects of the shape moduli associated with toroidal
compactifications, we demonstrate that Planck-sized extra dimensions can cast
significant ``shadows'' over low-energy physics. These shadows can greatly
distort our perceptions of the compactification geometry associated with large
extra dimensions, and place a fundamental limit on our ability to probe the
geometry of compactification simply by measuring Kaluza-Klein states. We also
discuss the interpretation of compactification radii and hierarchies in the
context of geometries with non-trivial shape moduli. One of the main results of
this paper is that compactification geometry is effectively renormalized as a
function of energy scale, with ``renormalization group equations'' describing
the ``flow'' of geometric parameters such as compactification radii and shape
angles as functions of energy.Comment: 7 pages, LaTeX, 2 figure
Diagnosing Spin at the LHC via Vector Boson Fusion
We propose a new technique for determining the spin of new massive particles
that might be discovered at the Large Hadron Collider. The method relies on
pair-production of the new particles in a kinematic regime where the vector
boson fusion production mechanism is enhanced. For this regime, we show that
the distribution of the leading jets as a function of their relative azimuthal
angle can be used to distinguish spin-0 from spin-1/2 particles. We illustrate
this effect by considering the particular cases of (i) strongly-interacting,
stable particles and (ii) supersymmetric particles carrying color charge. We
argue that this method should be applicable in a wide range of new physics
scenarios.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Improving the Health Benefits of Snap Bean: Genome-Wide Association Studies of Total Phenolic Content
Snap beans are a significant source of micronutrients in the human diet. Among the micronutrients present in snap beans are phenolic compounds with known beneficial effects on human health, potentially via their metabolism by the gut-associated microbiome. The genetic pathways leading to the production of phenolics in snap bean pods remain uncertain. In this study, we quantified the level of total phenolic content (TPC) in the Bean Coordinated Agriculture Program (CAP) snap bean diversity panel of 149 accessions. The panel was characterized spectrophotometrically for phenolic content with a Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric assay. Flower, seed and pod color were also quantified, as red, purple, yellow and brown colors are associated with anthocyanins and flavonols in common bean. Genotyping was performed through an Illumina Infinium Genechip BARCBEAN6K_3 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) analysis identified 11 quantitative trait nucleotides (QTN) associated with TPC. An SNP was identified for TPC on Pv07 located near the P gene, which is a major switch in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. Candidate genes were identified for seven of the 11 TPC QTN. Five regulatory genes were identified and represent novel sources of variation for exploitation in developing snap beans with higher phenolic levels for greater health benefits to the consumer
An Updated Description of Heavy-Hadron Interactions in Geant-4
Exotic stable massive particles (SMP) are proposed in a number of scenarios
of physics beyond the Standard Model. It is important that LHC experiments are
able both to detect and extract the quantum numbers of any SMP with masses
around the TeV scale. To do this, an understanding of the interactions of SMPs
in matter is required. In this paper a Regge-based model of R-hadron scattering
is extended and implemented in Geant-4. In addition, the implications of
-hadron scattering for collider searches are discussed
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